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Appalachian Conquest
TFL team based in Norfolk, VA. Team Overview The Conquest's strategy contradicts their strengths. They have arguably the greatest runningback in history under a six year contract, and he barely gets the ball. Appalachian runs most of their plays out of a split-back formation. Norfolk Conquest (CFL: 1997) Along with the Boston Black Tide, Edmonton Grizzlies, and the West Texas Rampage, Norfolk became the part of the CFL's first expansion. Norfolk did not do well at all and finished 2-10 and last in the Eastern conference. Appalachian Conquest (CFL: 1998-2005) Now as Appalachian the Conquest continued play under new ownership and fought for their first winning season in 1998. They made playoffs with a 8-4 record before falling to the Toronto Terror in the conference finals. Appalachian played with intensity for three years until 2001. In that year Appalachian took on the powerhouse Vancouver with both with 10-2 records. Despite all the hype on Appalachian, they were dropped 35-10 by the Whalers. The Conquest continued to rank up top in the CFL but never won a title. The closest they came was an undefeated season in 2005 before being upended by the Lansing Magic in the conference final. After that year, Appalachian, Lansing, and the Califronia Eagles were invited to the TFL. Appalachian Conquest (TFL: 2006-present) The Conquest finished 31st in their first TFL season. They used the 2nd overall draft pick to sign Joseph Thompson, an explosive runningback from Louisville. After receiving the nickname "Tecmo Jo" for accepting to be the cover athlete for a Tecmo Bowl video game, he led the team in yards and scoring with under 1/3 of the play calls being runs. The team, however, finished 7-9 and missed the playoffs finishing below both Philadelphia and Albany. In 2008, the Conquest again failed to win the division by finishing just behind the Albany Cougars, and agained failed to give Joe the ball or make the playoffs. The Conquest made the playoffs for the first time in 2009, but were defeated in the divisional round by the Green Bay Blitz. The team suffered a similar fate in 2010, but this time the were defeated in the regular season and playoffs by the Lehigh Valley Lightning. Although, Appalachian's fate seemed to change when they brought in their new coach. Alan Reed took the Conquest to their first division championship, but they lost in the Wild Card Round to their rivals, the Kentucky Trojans. The Conquest had trouble in the 2011 season and were deadlocked with the Lehigh Valley Lightning, but Lehigh Valley held the tie breaker with a points advantage. The Lightning had lost their last game so Appalachian was faced with a Do-or-Die situation in week 17. Appalachian was faced with the intimidating San Antonio Mavericks who had just completed an undefeated home record. Despite coming off of two quality wins, experts said that the Mavericks wouldn't be stopped. This is when coach Reed used an unconventional tactic inspired by Muhammad Ali. He started his back-up linemen for most of the first half. His only calls for his linemen was an all out charge against Maverick linemen, or, if he expected a all out blitz, they would pull back and take as much punishment as possible. His defense just played prevent and played to disallow any scoring threat from San Antonio. Then, once the Mavericks were beaten, battered, and tired, he sent in his starters along with Thompson. They charged and broke through the weary defense including a last second, 91 yard run to push Appalachian into the playoffs. The Conquest faced adversity again as they were assaulted by a vicious Kentucky team that put them in 16-0 hole 5 minutes into the game. The Trojan defense carried the team through the first half with a 16-7 lead. Appalachian fought back led by the "Appalachian Nightmare" Joseph Thompson to win the game on a last second field goal, 17-16. Starting Roster Rivals Lehigh Valley Lightning The biggest rival of the Conquest is the Lehigh Valley Lightning. The Lightning were the only team in the red East to beat the Appalachian in the past three years. Since 2010, the year Lehigh Valley joined the league, the series is split even at 3-3. Category:Teams